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Side-by-side financial comparison of Dollar General (DG) and Southern Company (SO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Dollar General is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($10.6B vs $8.4B, roughly 1.3× Southern Company). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 15.9% vs 2.7%, a 13.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Southern Company posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.0% vs 4.6%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (14.0% CAGR vs 4.3%).

Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of discount stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 8, 2024, Dollar General operated 20,388 stores in the contiguous United States and Mexico.

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territor...

DG vs SO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
DG
DG
1.3× larger
DG
$10.6B
$8.4B
SO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SO
SO
+3.4% gap
SO
8.0%
4.6%
DG
Higher net margin
SO
SO
13.3% more per $
SO
15.9%
2.7%
DG
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
14.0%
4.3%
DG

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
DG
DG
SO
SO
Revenue
$10.6B
$8.4B
Net Profit
$282.7M
$1.3B
Gross Margin
29.9%
Operating Margin
4.0%
24.0%
Net Margin
2.7%
15.9%
Revenue YoY
4.6%
8.0%
Net Profit YoY
43.8%
5.4%
EPS (diluted)
$1.28

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
$8.4B
Q4 25
$10.6B
$7.0B
Q3 25
$7.8B
Q2 25
$10.4B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$7.8B
Q4 24
$10.2B
$6.3B
Q3 24
$10.2B
$7.3B
Q2 24
$9.9B
$6.5B
Net Profit
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$282.7M
$341.0M
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
$391.9M
$880.0M
Q1 25
$1.3B
Q4 24
$196.5M
$466.0M
Q3 24
$374.2M
$1.5B
Q2 24
$363.3M
$1.2B
Gross Margin
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
29.9%
Q3 25
Q2 25
31.0%
Q1 25
Q4 24
28.8%
Q3 24
30.0%
Q2 24
30.2%
Operating Margin
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
24.0%
Q4 25
4.0%
13.1%
Q3 25
33.2%
Q2 25
5.5%
25.3%
Q1 25
25.9%
Q4 24
3.2%
16.7%
Q3 24
5.4%
32.6%
Q2 24
5.5%
30.0%
Net Margin
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
15.9%
Q4 25
2.7%
4.9%
Q3 25
21.9%
Q2 25
3.8%
12.6%
Q1 25
16.3%
Q4 24
1.9%
7.3%
Q3 24
3.7%
21.1%
Q2 24
3.7%
18.6%
EPS (diluted)
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.28
$0.38
Q3 25
$1.54
Q2 25
$1.78
$0.79
Q1 25
$1.21
Q4 24
$0.89
$0.48
Q3 24
$1.70
$1.39
Q2 24
$1.65
$1.09

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
DG
DG
SO
SO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.2B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$5.1B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$8.2B
Total Assets
$31.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.63×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.2B
$1.6B
Q3 25
$3.3B
Q2 25
$850.0M
$1.3B
Q1 25
$2.3B
Q4 24
$537.3M
$1.1B
Q3 24
$1.2B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$720.7M
$1.2B
Total Debt
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$5.1B
$65.6B
Q3 25
$64.6B
Q2 25
$5.7B
$63.0B
Q1 25
$62.9B
Q4 24
$5.7B
$58.8B
Q3 24
$6.2B
$61.3B
Q2 24
$6.2B
$59.9B
Stockholders' Equity
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$8.2B
$36.0B
Q3 25
$38.3B
Q2 25
$7.7B
$37.3B
Q1 25
$37.2B
Q4 24
$7.3B
$33.2B
Q3 24
$7.3B
$36.9B
Q2 24
$7.0B
$36.1B
Total Assets
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$31.7B
$155.7B
Q3 25
$153.2B
Q2 25
$31.0B
$148.9B
Q1 25
$148.1B
Q4 24
$31.5B
$145.2B
Q3 24
$31.8B
$144.0B
Q2 24
$31.0B
$141.9B
Debt / Equity
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.63×
1.82×
Q3 25
1.69×
Q2 25
0.74×
1.69×
Q1 25
1.69×
Q4 24
0.78×
1.77×
Q3 24
0.86×
1.66×
Q2 24
0.89×
1.66×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
DG
DG
SO
SO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.0B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$690.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
6.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.9%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.55×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$2.1B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.0B
$2.6B
Q3 25
$3.8B
Q2 25
$847.2M
$2.2B
Q1 25
$1.3B
Q4 24
$542.4M
$2.2B
Q3 24
$988.9M
$3.6B
Q2 24
$663.8M
$2.7B
Free Cash Flow
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$690.4M
$-1.7B
Q3 25
$559.0M
Q2 25
$556.2M
$-619.0M
Q1 25
$-1.2B
Q4 24
$201.0M
$-576.0M
Q3 24
$635.2M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$321.8M
$563.0M
FCF Margin
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
6.5%
-24.2%
Q3 25
7.1%
Q2 25
5.3%
-8.9%
Q1 25
-15.3%
Q4 24
2.0%
-9.1%
Q3 24
6.2%
17.9%
Q2 24
3.2%
8.7%
Capex Intensity
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.9%
61.4%
Q3 25
41.1%
Q2 25
2.8%
40.2%
Q1 25
31.3%
Q4 24
3.4%
43.4%
Q3 24
3.5%
31.8%
Q2 24
3.4%
32.9%
Cash Conversion
DG
DG
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
3.55×
7.62×
Q3 25
2.21×
Q2 25
2.16×
2.48×
Q1 25
0.98×
Q4 24
2.76×
4.66×
Q3 24
2.64×
2.36×
Q2 24
1.83×
2.23×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

DG
DG

Consumables$8.8B83%
Seasonal$992.2M9%
Home Products$550.7M5%
Apparel$281.9M3%

SO
SO

Segment breakdown not available.

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